The World Health Organization (WHO) estimates that there were millions of smallpox cases every year until the 1970s, when the WHO's eradication program then successfully eliminated the disease in nature. Some academic estimates place smallpox's death toll at 300 million in the twentieth century, and 500 million in its final hundred years of existence. The development of the smallpox vaccination, which was the first successfully developed vaccine (the word vaccination comes from the Latin word for cow;"vacca", as cowpox was used to develop the smallpox vaccine), greatly contributed to the significant decline in infant and child mortality across the globe, and the boom in population growth during the twentieth century.
Reported cases
In spite of these large numbers, the figures for reported cases was only a tiny fraction of this; for example, the WHO estimates that there were fifty million cases in 1950, however less than one percent of these cases were recorded. In spite of this, the data is still useful for showing how smallpox developed and spread throughout the world; we know that the majority of these cases were recorded in the Indian sub-continent, and that epidemics across Asia drove the number of recorded cases up in the middle of the century. The final naturally-occurring cases were observed in 1977, while the two cases in 1978 were due to a lab accident in England, which resulted in one fatality.
Reported number of smallpox cases globally between 1920 and 1980
Characteristic
Number of reported cases
1980
0
1979
0
1978
2
1977
3,234
1976
954
1975
19,278
1974
218,367
1973
135,859
1972
65,153
1971
52,806
1970
33,706
1969
54,202
1968
80,024
1967
131,697
1966
92,650
1965
112,228
1964
77,295
1963
133,791
1962
98,759
1961
90,588
1960
67,127
1959
96,571
1958
280,475
1957
156,652
1956
96,089
1955
91,823
1954
99,232
1953
94,135
1952
167,085
1951
554,756
1950
426,006
1949
632,858
1948
161,893
1947
163,375
1946
302,694
1945
405,833
1944
407,525
1943
210,358
1942
124,504
1941
195,863
1940
235,820
1939
186,393
1938
144,042
1937
149,184
1936
263,579
1935
331,151
1934
327,373
1933
328,212
1932
211,274
1931
182,829
1930
360,575
1929
267,322
1928
272,529
1927
327,289
1926
324,125
1925
284,845
1924
186,354
1923
174,799
1922
190,159
1921
303,850
1920
401,318
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OWID. (March 30, 2020). Reported number of smallpox cases globally between 1920 and 1980 [Graph]. In Statista. Retrieved October 03, 2024, from https://www.statista.com/statistics/1108306/smallpox-number-of-cases-worldwide-historical/
OWID. "Reported number of smallpox cases globally between 1920 and 1980." Chart. March 30, 2020. Statista. Accessed October 03, 2024. https://www.statista.com/statistics/1108306/smallpox-number-of-cases-worldwide-historical/
OWID. (2020). Reported number of smallpox cases globally between 1920 and 1980. Statista. Statista Inc.. Accessed: October 03, 2024. https://www.statista.com/statistics/1108306/smallpox-number-of-cases-worldwide-historical/
OWID. "Reported Number of Smallpox Cases Globally between 1920 and 1980." Statista, Statista Inc., 30 Mar 2020, https://www.statista.com/statistics/1108306/smallpox-number-of-cases-worldwide-historical/
OWID, Reported number of smallpox cases globally between 1920 and 1980 Statista, https://www.statista.com/statistics/1108306/smallpox-number-of-cases-worldwide-historical/ (last visited October 03, 2024)
Reported number of smallpox cases globally between 1920 and 1980 [Graph], OWID, March 30, 2020. [Online]. Available: https://www.statista.com/statistics/1108306/smallpox-number-of-cases-worldwide-historical/